


Every Day Is A Lullaby

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Yoitober 2019 [19]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spirits, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Death, Drunk Katsuki Yuuri, Drunkenness, Grim Reapers, Inktober 2019, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, Not Really Character Death, Sad Victor Nikiforov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 17:24:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Viktor's life (er.. death?) as a Reaper is one that often leaves him with a heavy heart, after all, when you spend all your time guiding the dead, things get pretty depressing.... and then he meets Yuri, a living human who can somehow see him for no apparent reason and who apparently wants to have a drink with himViktor can allow himself fifteen minutes to be human... can't he?





	Every Day Is A Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> Day 19- "Sling", title from "Happiness Is A Butterfly" by Lana Del Rey

Staring at the body was always the most surreal experience

Atleast, that's what Viktor kept hearing

Personally, he couldn't really remember what his life had been like, it had been so long ago...

He couldn't say what death was like

But he was inclined to believe the ones who said that the strangest part was standing over their body, looking down at it...

He could understand where that would be hard on the mind

"I'm..... dead....?"

"Yes," Viktor confirmed quietly, his expression grim as he watched the teenager- barely fifteen- step towards his body

"But... I didn't even....... see it coming...."

"You weren't supposed to," Viktor promised quietly

"It's.... _mercifull_.... that you didn't know,"

Maybe

Some people though it was, some people thought it was much crueler, it wasn't really Viktor's place to judge one way or the other

"But I'm only fifteen... what about the rest of my life!?" the teenager insisted, spinning around to stare up at Viktor with wide, pleading eyes

"You will have other lives, if you want them,"

"But I liked THIS ONE,"

"I'm sorry," Viktor said softly, gently placing his hand on the teen's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze

"I wish I could let you return, but it doesn't work like that,"

"How _does_ it work?"

Ah....

Viktor hated that question, it was always so much work to explain...

"Yuri will explain it on your way to the afterlife, won't you Yuri?"

He pushed a smile, turning over his shoulder to stare at the blonde behind him

"Yeah yeah, I'll explain it," he grumbled back, taking a step forward and holding his hand out towards the kid

Because that was what he was, really

Just a kid who had been out seeing a movie with freinds

Driving back in the rain, didn't even see the car in front of them...

"C'mon kid, let's go,"

Understandably, the boy didn't look all that willing to take Yuri's outstretched hand

"It's ok," Viktor promised him softly, trying to keep his expression as warm and genuine as possible

"I know it's scary, but you'll enjoy Heaven, I promise,"

The kid lowered his head, lookin like he was about to take Yuri's hand... but pausing at the last minute and staring up at Viktor anxiously

"What about my parents? I... didn't even get to say goodbye...."

It was only through decades of doing this job that Viktor always managed to get through this part

"I know... but it's probably better that way, your parents will miss you terribly ofcourse, but.. this is part of what they have to go through, it's part of life, and life... it was designed this way for a reason,"

"What do you mean?"

"Yuri will explain,"

Yuri rolled his eyes, but gave a nod of confirmation, and finally, after another breif moment of hesitation, the kid reached out and took Yuri's hand

Yuri and Viktor exchanged a breif glance before the blonde began walking, leading the teenager away, into a soft, white light ahead of them

Viktor inhaled tightly, watching for a moment, before sighing and checking his watch

Twenty minutes until the next one....

Closing his eyes, he let himself teleport to the next appropriate location- a bar in Detroit, Michigan- and stepped inside

The thing about Reapers is that they aren't at all the way people generally picture them to be

They aren't skeletons wrapped in black cloaks, they don't weild giant scythes or weapons of any kind really, they aren't monsters and they don't do any cool actiony things like demon hunting or slaying evil spirits

They aren't bad guys either, they don't _enjoy_ their jobs- typically- they simply... exist....

And that's all there is to it

They're just people, just spirits, tasked with guiding souls out of their bodies and into the afterlife

Viktor himself couldn't remember how long he had been doing this job

He couldn't remember the life he had had before

He couldn't remember how he ended up here or why

That wasn't necessarily some standard Reaper thing either, because his apprentice, Yuri, remembered all of those things vividly

He remembered a life in Russia, remembered dieing at seventeen, the victim of a senseless murder

He remembered spending a wile in Heaven before deciding he was bored and wanting to pursue more

The job of a Reaper wasn't an easy one, but it was a necessary one, and good Reapers could make the journey so much easier on people....

Yuri said he remembered that his Reaping wasn't particularly pleasant and had decided that if he was going to pursue a "career" as a dead man, it might as well be something that would help people- to provide them with information and a comforting word or touch that he hadn't had

Ofcourse the "comforting" part, Viktor was discovering, was alot harder for Yuri to learn than the actual mechanics of the job, but it was fine, he'd learn eventually, and when he did, he'd become a Reaper in his own right and Viktor would get a new apprentice

Reaping wasn't a permanent job either- or atleast, it didn't have to be, but it _could_ be

Some Reapers "retired", deciding they'd had enough and returning to a peacefull existence in Heaven, or reincarnating into another life, or even ascending to a higher position like being a spirit guide or a guardian angel

Viktor himself wasn't sure what he would decide to do when he quit being a Reaper, he hadn't given it much thought, he only knew that he couldn't do it much longer

It had never been easy for him, but it seemed like it only became harder with time

Or maybe Viktor was just growing softer...

Either way, it was of no importance to him now

For now, he had one last soul to take before he could take a break for the night

Technically, spirits- and that included Reapers- didn't _need_ to take breaks, but he still enjoyed doing so

He found it best for him to mentally and emotionally decompress every several hours, even if he didn't need to physically

He sighed quietly, checking his pocket watch again

Seventeen more minutes.....

"You look like you're having an even worse night than I am,"

Blinking in surprise, Viktor looked down at the man next to him, eyebrows raised

He.. couldn't have been talking to _Viktor_... could he?

No, that couldn't be right

Viktor was a spirit, humans couldn't see-

"Is... something wrong?"

Viktor found his mouth opening, his heart clenching, his head spinning

In all the decades he had been doing this, he had never once been spoken to by someone who was still alive

"I-..... no..... no, sorry, I just...."

He paused, rubbing his neck and biting his lip

"It's been a long time since I've really.... talked to anyone,"

The guy was cute, his lips twitching up into a small smile, brown eyes a little hazy and a nice pink flush to his skin, likely due to alcohol if the fact that he had just exited a bar was any indication

He was short, and had raven black hair and blue framed glasses

He was very pretty...

"That isolated huh?" he asked, leaning back against the window of the bar they were in front of, watching listlessly as the rain pelted the ground in front of them

"Yeah, I get that,"

Viktor pursed his lips

He wanted to ask further but... should he be doing this?

He had never heard of any protocol about talking to the living...

"Do you?" he decided to venture

"Yeah, I've been alone for a wile too.... my family still lives in Japan, and my roommate had to move back to Thailand for a wile for a family emergency... I don't have any other freinds and I just started a new job, my dog recently died..."

Biting his lip, the cute human adjusted his glasses and looked down

"Sorry, I shouldn't be unloading all this-"

"It's ok," Viktor said quickly, offering a genuine smile

"It's ok, I don't mind listening, we all need to get things off of our chests sometime, don't we? How better than with a stranger? Not as though you'll face any real consequences from talking to me, hm?"

"I guess you could make that argument..." the stranger mused quietly

"I'm still sorry though, I'm not usually so... _down_... I actually came out drinking to cheer myself up, I'm usually a happy drunk," he said with a sigh, tensing a little

"Not that I get drunk often but..."

"I understand," Viktor chuckled

"Maybe the problem is that you were drinking alone, hm? I mean, I assume, considering the nature of our conversation,"

"Reasonable assumption," the stranger said with a small sigh

"You're right, every other time I've gotten drunk has been with Phichit, maybe my happiness came from him, not the booze," he noted softly

"It's entirely possible," Viktor agreed

The stranger smiled a little more, reaching out to offer his hand to the Reaper

"I'm Yuri, by the way,"

He... wanted to shake Viktor's hand....

If Viktor gave Yuri his hand, he would know that Viktor was a spirit, his hand would go right through....

Reapers were capable of manifesting physical form temporarily by removing the ring that gave them their powers, so...

For the first time in all these years, he discretely pulled his ring off, putting it in his pocket as he reached out and wrapped his hand around Yuri's

God.....

_God_....

He had forgotten how warm and soft living flesh was....

It sank over him like a weight, a _want_, a near desperation for more of that sensation....

But he swallowed and smiled anyway, giving Yuri's hand a gentle squeeze

"Viktor," he finally replied

"Yuri is a very pretty name, I have a freind named Yuri in fact,"

"Oh really? That's cool, I've never heard it outside of Japan,"

"Ah, he's Russian, it's a very common name there," Viktor explained

One of the perks of the job, atleast, was having a nearly endless amount of information available to him, so easily within reach that he didn't even have to think about things, they just.. came to him

"Oh really? If you don't mind my asking.... your accent, are you Russian too?"

"As a matter of fact, I am,"

Ofcourse, spirits didn't naturally have accents, but when he took physical shape he had just... decided to manifest one

He wasn't sure why, it just felt _right_

"That's so neat, are um... are you busy tonight, Viktor?"

Smiling a little more, Viktor shook his head

"I have a few more minutes to spare,"

"Then do you want to get a drink? I'm not _that_ drunk, really, I'm just tipsy, so I can.... I can have one or two more without getting smashed,"

"Ok," Viktor agreed, squeezing Yuri's hand again

He still had fifteen minutes left

There was no rule that said he couldn't spend them drinking with a freind

~+~

"No no, I mean it, I learned to pole dance just.. just so I could impress this.. this guy who didn't even notice me!"

Viktor couldn't remember the last time he had _laughed_ like this

Hell...

He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed _at all_

He shook his head, staring down into his White Russian with a smile

He couldn't get drunk, but that didn't mean he couldn't indulge Yuri wile he did

"That..... _that_, is quite truly a shame,"

"No... not really, I mean, who would want to see me poll dancing anyway?" Yuri reasoned with a small shrug, taking a sip of his daiquiri

"Well I would, for one," Viktor said softly

Yuri's face turned more serious, and sank into a _much_ deeper shade of red

Viktor's mouth fell open, suddenly aware that he... _may_ have said too much...

"I-... ah... sorry, if that was too much...'

"N-No! No no, it isn't... it isn't too much at all," Yuri replied with a gentle smile

"I actually... I mean.... my lessons were a couple of years ago so I'm still pretty rusty but.."

Yuri was a little more confident with alcohol, it seemed

They had only been drinking for about ten minutes, maybe a little more, but he definitely seemed less shy than he had been when the first met

"I would strip for you, if you wanted me to," he said quietly, his voice low and deep

Viktor's heart was racing, watching as the other man moved closer and gently placed a hand on his thigh

Damn...

_Damn...._

He had never felt like this before, atleast not that he could remember

"I.... I think I would like that," Viktor said softly, his voice a quiet wisp as Yuri leaned closer, closing his eyes, and Viktor melted.. he closed his eyes too, letting himself settle as Yuri pressed upwards and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips

It was soft, pure and chaste, and had Viktor shuddering in pleasure

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt _affection_...

Hell, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt anything even remotely positive _at all_

But it had his head spinning

"We should go back to my place," Yuri said softly

Viktor's heart was racing- it was _thrilling_

But....

"Ok," he agreed softly, reaching out to gently cup Yuri's face, a loving smile pressing over his lips

"Let me call you a taxi, I have to go home and feed my dog first, and then I'll join you, alright?"

"What kind of dog?" Yuri asked excitedly

"A poodle,"

"I had a poodle too! Wow, that's a fun coincidence, I'd love to meet your dog, I could just go with you,"

"Ah.. I... would say yes but... she gets a little nervous around new people so I'd prefer to introduce you more slowly, some other time, hm? And I have to make her food so... it'll take me more time than I'd feel comfortable making you wait in the car... I promise, I'll be right behind you ok? So just give me your address and I'll be there soon,"

Yuri was pouting, but Viktor couldn't do anything to help him

He had a soul to reap in less than three minutes, he couldn't exactly stick around for that... although he supposed he could always just say he had to go to the bathroom and duck out...

But that could get messy, and now that he had lied about the dog thing, he definitely couldn't use that either

"Fine," Yuri mumbled with a pout, bringing a gentle smile to Viktor's lips

"Magnificent," he promised softly, taking a few bills out of his pocket and sliding them onto the counter

Spirits could occasionally conjure small things like that if they were experienced enough- that's how things like lucky pennies happened, and Viktor was _definitely_ experienced

He took Yuri's hand, marveling once again at the warmth of Yuri's hand as he gently curled his fingers around it and started pulling him out of the bar

Yuri curled closer to him, wrapping his arms genty around Viktor's and pressing himself closer to the Reaper as they walked, resting his head against Viktor's shoulder

God... Viktor could live for this

He could convince himself to reincarnate into another life just for the express purpose of sharing more moments like this with Yuri

The two of them stood on the edge of the sidewalk, one arm wrapped around Yuri as he held the other up, trying to flag down a taxi

He needed to hurry, he had less than a minute to get Yuri settled in the car before he needed to go back to work...

A taxi drove up.... but went right past them

"Damn..." Viktor grumbled quietly under his breath, narrowing his eyes as he stepped out into the street, waving his hand a little bit more frantically, hoping that the next car wouldn't pass them

There was one coming, he just needed to-

"VIKTOR!!!"

Before he even had time to fully turn around, he felt himself being pushed down, and then there was a crashing sound, a crunching sound, and when Viktor finally sat up....

"YURI!!"

Another car had come out from around the corner, Viktor hadn't seen it but... Yuri had....

And in his desperation to save Viktor, he had jumped in front of it and...

Hands shaking, he slowly reached into his pocket and drew out his watch

Time was up

The hands were on zero and... Yuri's body was laying motionless in front of him...

Tears were gathering in his eyes, his lip trembling as he reached out and gently stroked his fingers through Yuri's hair

There were people gathering, the driver was out of his car and shouting, and Viktor......

This was the part where Viktor should put his ring back on and take Yuri's soul to Heaven

This is the part where he should do his job

But...

But there were tears stinging his eyes and he just couldn't bare to.....

"What are you waiting for? Put your ring back on,"

Head snapping up, Viktor turned to look over his shoulder, seeing his apprentice behind him, seemingly displeased, arms crossed over his chest and an irritated look on his face

"Well?"

"...I can't do it," Viktor breathed softly, tears starting to drip down out of his eyes

"I can't, I'm sorry, I just..... I can't.... I want him to live... I want him to have a full life, a good life, I want..."

"It isn't about what you want, it's about natural order, isn't that what you always tell me?"

The blonde Yuri had a point, but Viktor still couldn't bring himself to do it

"The longer you leave him, the more he suffers," his apprentice reminded him tensely

"I know that," Viktor breathed

"Then stop hesitating,"

Viktor shook his head quickly, the tears starting to drip down his cheeks as he reached into his pocket and slowly pulled the ring out

He bit his lip- _hard_\- and made a snap decision

He reached out and suddenly slid it over Yuri's finger

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" his apprentice shouted

And he had every reason to be upset

Not only was Viktor acting intensely irresponsible and immature, but they didn't even know what might happen to a living human wearing Death's Ring

There was a pregnant pause, before suddenly, Yuri gasped in a breath, jerking upwards and blinking, panting desperately and wincing as he reached out and gently wrapped his hand around his other arm

"Viktor...?" he asked softly

Viktor beamed, a relieved smile spreading across his face as he surged forward and gave his lover a deep, excited kiss, his heart racing with joy, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes

He really.... really did it....

Yuri was safe

He was _safe_....

_Thank God_

_**Thank God**_.....

~+~

"I can't believe I got out of that with nothing but a broken arm,"

"I know, it's a miracle," Viktor said softly, pushing Yuri's weelchair down through the hospital hallway

He had never felt happier in his entire existance

"It's funny though... I don't remember having this ring on before... I don't even remember _owning_ a ring like this..." he mused, shifting his arm a little and wincing, only for Viktor to lean down and gently settle his hand over Yuri's shoulder

"Don't move my dear, remember? You don't want to disturb the setting," he noted, carefully adjusting the sling Yuri's arm was in so that it was back into place

"I remember..." he mumbled quietly

"Good,"

"I just wish I knew where this ring came from..."

"Please don't worry about it for now Yuri,"

He was going to have to come up with a pretty damn good excuse for why he had given Yuri a ring that- for reasons he would also have to come up with a good lie for- he could never take off for even a moment, and then lied about doing so

A problem for the morning though, he assured himself

"You really are an angel, you know that Viktor? Taking care of me after I got hurt, sitting in the hospital with me all this time, taking me home..."

"Believe me Yuri, I'm no angel," he promised with a slight huff of laughter

And that was especially true now that he didn't have his ring anymore

He was just mortal now

"I promise I'm nothing so special, and besides, you're the one who jumped in front of a car for more even though we barely knew eachother,"

"I couldn't let you get hurt," Yuri replied simply, looking down

"You're way too important to me,"

"You barely know me," Viktor pointed out with a soft chuckle

".... I know you better than you think I do,"

Viktor frowned, pausing and looking down at Yuri, getting ready to ask him what he meant by that, when suddenly someone else appeared in front of them

She looked like all of the other patients, but... she seemed different somehow, in a way that Viktor couldn't quite place

"Do you need help?" Yuri asked softly

The girl didn't answer, but a second later, someone else appeared- someone who Viktor recognized very well

"Dammit, I told you not to wander off..." Yuri- the blonde Yuri- grumbled as he wrapped his hand around the girl's arm, glaring up at Viktor in annoyance

"I hope you're proud of yourself Old Man," he noted irritably

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that thanks to your little stunt, the balance is all thrown off! But don't worry.... it's in the process of adjusting it's self," he paused, looking down at Yuri with a smirk

"Now that there's a new Reaper to take your place,"

Viktor felt the color drain from his face, but before he could question him any further, a white light appeared, one that his apprentice wasted no time in leading the girl- the _spirit_\- through

For a moment, there was a pause, a beat of silence, before Yuri moved his hand- the one not in the sling- carefully up to rest over Viktor's

"I was afraid of this," he said quietly, drawing Viktor's attention down towards him

"Afraid...?"

Yuri nodded slowly, finally looking up at the former Reaper behind him

"That I would end up back here again, having to Reap the dead... as soon as I saw you I knew, but.... I couldn't just ignore you either," he explained quietly

"I knew the moment I saw you that if I approached you, I would get sucked back in, but... I also knew that if I approached you, I would fall in love with you, so I think... the pay off is worth it,"

"How did you know all of those things?" Viktor asked quietly

Yuri smiled sadly at him, squeezing his hand again

"Oh sweetheart..... the older a Reaper is, the better their intuition,"


End file.
